Melon Patch Players stage thinking person's play 'The Little Foxes'

LEESBURG — Imagine you are the clever Regina Hubbard Giddens. Your brothers want you and your husband to invest in a can't-miss business, but your husband declines.

You have no money of your own because it's the turn of the 20th century. Fathers didn't leave money to daughters.

What's more, your husband, who is ill, informs you he will leave all his money to your daughter. Then he has a heart attack and asks for your help.

What would you do? The decision that will change Regina's life is answered in "The Little Foxes," which opens at 8 p.m. Friday, May 9, at the Melon Patch Theatre.

Director J. Scott Berry said the play, written by Lillian Hellman in 1939, is a director's dream.

"It is a true character study," Berry said. "On the surface the play addresses the issues of greed in the old South, women's rights, racism and families that are dysfunctional. But it is a thinking person's play."

RuthAnn Proch takes on the part of Regina in the Melon Patch Players production.

"It's a dream role for me," she said. "She is a victim of her times. She would do well today, but then, because she wanted to be in control, she had to manipulate others."

Ze' Carter plays Addie and Tim Simpson plays Cal, the servants in Regina's house who know the score.

Berry said the play has plenty of comic relief to accompany performances he thinks are not only unusual but also remarkable.

"RuthAnn is often seen in plays where she is the nurturing mother," Berry said. "But she, Cliff, Mike and the others are turning out performances people have not seen from them in a long time, if ever."

"The Little Foxes" will continue at the theater, 311 N. 13th St., through May 25. Performances begin at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, except May 24, when the play begins at 2 p.m. Sunday performances begin at 2 p.m.